Medico suicide case: Telangana guv points out lapses, calls for thorough probe

Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan has called for a thorough inquiry in the suicide case of 26-year-old medico Dharavath Preethi to reveal "the truth".

The governor said the officials of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences “attempted to shield the culprit by claiming that Dr Preethi was suffering with some ailments.”

On Tuesday, "taking serious note of the tragic incident", the Telangana Raj Bhavan sent a missive to the Vice Chancellor of the University seeking "a thorough inquiry from all possible angles to find out the truth".

The letter also pointed out the "loss of precious time in shifting of the victim from Warangal to Hyderabad."

"Instead, super specialty experts and required advanced medical equipment should have been moved to the MGM Hospital so as to give the best possible treatment to Dr Preethi," the letter said.

Dr Preethi, a first year MD (Anesthesia) student at the Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, was found unconscious in the state-run MGM Hospital last Wednesday, apparently attempting suicide by injecting a harmful fluid, after she was allegedly ragged and continuously harassed by a senior Dr MA Saif.

Under critical care treatment for five days in NIMS, Hyderabad, Preethi died late Sunday. The untimely death of the medico from a tribal community led to protests and strong political accusations at the K Chandrasekhar Rao government.

During the treatment, Dr Soundararajan, a physician earlier, had visited NIMS to inquire about Dr Preethi's health condition.

Demanding swift justice, her parents and relatives who are accusing the KMC officials of inaction on their earlier complaints about harassment faced by their daughter from Saif, have called for a sitting judge probe. The BJP supported the demand.

The Raj Bhavan letter to VC, sent upon the instructions of Dr Soundararajan, also called for a detailed report on the Standard Operating Procedures in place to deal with such incidents of harassment and ragging in the health sciences university.

The letter also inquired about manuals dealing with duty hours of medicos, Assistant Professors and the functioning of CCTV cameras at the medical colleges and hospitals.

The Governor called for strict implementation of anti-ragging and anti-harassment laws in the medical colleges with a special focus on safeguarding women medicos. The letter also suggested strengthening the grievance redressal mechanism and creation of a student counselling cell headed by the HoD, Psychiatry wing in each medical college.